Sparks and needles: Seeking catalysts of state expansions, a case study of technological interaction at Angkor, Cambodia (9th to 13th centuries CE)

This paper presents a framework for identifying catalysts of expansionary phases of premodern states and empires. Combining ideas from W. Brian Arthur’s Complexity Economics with multi-scalar evidence we investigate how changes in individual technologies act as material ‘sparks’ that enabled states and empires to dynamically transform over their history. Technological interaction is used to evaluate how the Angkorian Khmer Empire used temple architecture to expand elite interests within the capital regions. Multidisciplinary analysis based on archaeometallurgical evidence is used to test the impact of iron technology on the changes in Angkorian temples between the 11th and 13th centuries. We find a correspondence between the permanent switch to sandstone and the increased use of iron from the Phnom Dek region, the largest source of iron ore in Cambodia. Technological interaction leads us to consider the broader impact that developments in the iron and temple architecture industries had across Angkor’s economy and whether those developments correlate with new ideas or access to new resources. The evidence suggests that material changes are directly interlinked with politico-religious strategies. Using the multi-scalar and recursive nature of technological interaction is an effective way to begin breaking down the complex range of factors that enabled state expansions.